Until There Are No More Regrets
by IceWarrior13
Summary: There were fifty Freelancers, one for every state. Most weren't situated on the Mother of Invention, just rookies and a special, chosen few. This is the story of a young rookie who is sent to the Mother of Invention and the choices she makes over the course of the series. Is she as strong as she appears to be? Who will see through the façade? What are her regrets?
1. Prologue

A young soldier in royal-blue armor ran through a courtyard, dodging every bullet as turrets and robotic-snipers shot at them, firing back and leaping over explosions from trigger-mines.

Whoever they were, they were an skilled solider. Fast.

The soldier finally made it past the bullet-fire and dropped their gun, engaging in had-to-hand combat with three simulation-hologram opponents far bigger than his/herself. He or she used her smaller size and speed to her advantage, ducking under arms and legs and going for the throat, the back of the head, and a place where no man wanted to be hit.

Within a minute, all were knocked out and staying out, dissolving in the floor.

The soldier picked their gun up and ran again, somersaulting past more bullet-fire and raising their gun, taking aim and striking ten moving targets in mere seconds.

Then, they ran toward a falling door, sliding under just before it closed. The soldier stood up as a loud buzzer went off, then sighed in relief.

" _Assessment of Private Coraline Button Caboose: complete. Excellent work, soldier._ "

"Thank you, FILSS." The soldier removed their helmet. Choppy, dark-blue hair fell to shoulder-length, and a pair of blue eyes set over a sea of light-freckles almost blazed.

The young girl, around eighteen or nineteen, smiled brightly at a nearby camera.

" _My pleasure... There is someone who wishes to meet you._ "

"Huh?" Coraline turned around to see a middle-aged man in a business-suit step into the room. In one hand, he held a glowing-tablet.

"Private Coraline B. Caboose. Younger twin of Private Michael J. Caboose, originating from a colony on the forest-moon of Ciryo. You are at the top of your class." The man adjusted his glasses. "My name is Doctor Leonard Church, the Director of _Project Freelancer_ , but you may call me _Director_."

"Um..."

"Private, you are exactly the kind of soldier we need over at Project Freelancer." The Director stated, and the girl tensed. "You're being transferred to the _Mother of Invention_ , effective immediately."

"What?!" The girl finally asked, her eyes widening. "Sir, with all due respect, I joined this army to protect my brother. I can't just-"

"You can, and you will. These are your orders, Private. Stick to them." The Director turned and departed, leaving the girl behind. A moment passed, the girl staring after the man in stunned silence, then...

"FILSS?"

" _Yes?_ "

"Tell my brother to meet me in the barracks... I have to say _goodbye_."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 ** _"Michael?"_**

 ** _"Yeah, Coraline?!"_**

 ** _"I... I have to go away, for a while."_**

 ** _"Like my guinea pig?"_**

 ** _"No, no! I... I'm being deployed, Micheal. I have to go through intense training with some of the best fighters of the UNSC, and it's going to take a long time for me to be ready and to beat the bad guys."_**

 ** _"... Coraline?"_**

 ** _"Yes?"_**

 ** _"Are you joining the Avengers?!"_**

 ** _"No-"_**

 ** _"Justice League?!"_**

 ** _"No-"_**

 ** _"Power Rangers?!"_**

 ** _"Michael-"_**

 ** _"GHOSTBUSTERS!"_**

 ** _"No,_** ** _Michael. I'm joining Project Freelancer. I'm going to be an agent-"_**

 ** _"My sister's joining the Men in Black! I'm so proud, you are gonna be the best and you're going to be a hero and fight bad aliens and it is going to be AWESOME! I'm gonna pack you a lunch, in a brown paper bag with stickers and smiley-faces..!"_**

 ** _"... Heh."_**

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

In a small, grey room, Coraline gazed into a mirror, looking at her new armor skeptically.

It was dark-turquoise. There was a black flame-like decal on the left side of the chest-plate and one on each of the shoulder-pads.

Her weapons were a shotgun that had been painted black with flame-like turquoise decals and a black pistol with the same sort of decals at her belt. There was also a black cylinder on the outside of each of her wrist-guards that probably did something crazy.

Finally, Coraline took a deep breath, turned, and began to leave her room. On the way out, she paused and smiled at something on a table.

A brown paper bag covered in rainbow glitter and stickers from a strange combination of Dora the Explorer, My Little Pony, Barbie, and Star Wars, along with a few emojis. At the bottom, there was a signature - _Michael J. Caboose_ \- in sloppy blue print done with a crayon with a sloppy smiley-face at the end.

Coraline gazed at it fondly for a moment, then left her room.

 ** _/\_**

Coraline followed the Director down a hallway, her helmet on.

"This is the recreation room." The Director stated, gesturing to a door before folding his hands behind his back. "It is here where you will have your meals and spend any time not on missions or in training, unless you count a small lounge above the training-room that is mainly used for monitoring of your fellow Frelancers' progress."

"Yes, sir." Coraline bowed her head as she recorded the information. "I would like to thank you properly for this opportunity, sir."

"Make sure that you earn it." The Director commanded, and she nodded reverently. "And I would suggest that you take off your helmet when you are in there. Not doing so will only gain you a normal 'rookie' reputation: a reputation I don't currently believe that you deserve... Welcome to Project Freelancer, **Agent Alaska**."

The Director turned and left, and Coraline hesitated slightly before reaching out and grabbing the doorknob. She took a deep breath, then slowly opened the door.

The room was alive with talk and laughter, but it all settled down as the Freelancers all turned to see Coraline. She froze up where she stood, her eyes widening behind her visor.

"Um..." Suddenly more nervous than before, the girl tried to duck out, but someone in light-purple/green armor grabbed her arm and pulled her further into the room. Coraline looked up at the figure, her anxiety growing.

"Well, well, well." A woman's voice spoke smugly. "What do we have here? A rookie?"

"I, uh..."

"Leave them alone, _South_." A male Freelancer in dark-purple/green armor walked over, wrenching the first Freelancer's hand off of Coraline's arm. "I mean, you've already scared Wash to the point of refusing to remove his helmet. I'm not letting you scare this one... Well, come on in!"

The second Freelancer wrapped his arm around Coraline's shoulders, dragging her further into the room. Coraline didn't know what to do, so she simply let herself be led by the larger soldier.

"Um..."

"The first person you had the pleasure of meeting is _South Dakota_ , or South, my sister. Over there's _Wyoming_." White and black armor. "That's _Texas_ , but we call her _Tex_." Pitch-black armor. "That one's _Carolina_." Teal armor. "There's _Maine_." He wore white/orange armor with a large yellow visor. "That guy's _Florida_." Dark-blue armor. "Right there is _Connecticut_ , or _C.T._ " Brown/white armor. " _New York_ , or _York_." Yellow/gold armor. "And there's your fellow rookie: _Washington_ , or _Wash_." He had grey/yellow armor. "My name's _North Dakota_ , but you can just call me _North_. Who are you?"

"I-I was told that I'm going to be called _Agent Alaska_ , like two minutes ago." The girl admitted, removing her helmet and looking up at North timidly. "B-but I guess when the Director isn't around, y-you guys can call me _Coraline_."

"Coraline?" Wyoming asked, crossing his arms. "You mean _Caroline_?"

"No, it's _Coraline_. It does confuse, some people... I-I guess we're going to be teammates, huh?"

"Unless the mission calls for only one of us, yes." Carolina walked over, standing at least a head over Coraline. "You're pretty small, kid."

"I-I guess so."

"Must mean you did something pretty special for the Director to pick you." The teal-wearing Freelancer continued, and this made Coraline tense up even more. "Calm down, kid. No one here's gonna mess with you, save Tex or South. But you only have to worry about Tex in training, and North'll keep South in check... Welcome to the gang, _Cora_."

"T-thank you." Coraline bowed her head slightly. "I appreciate it." Meanwhile, every male in the room (save York! North, and Florida) was staring at the new recruit.

"Dibs." Washington whispered, smirking under his helmet, and the others all groaned. Wyoming even turned and slammed his head into a wall. The Bro Code was now enacted.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

A few hours later, the a Director had decided that it was time to give Coraline her initiation. Which basically meant he was going to let the rookie get the shot kicked out of her.

" _Agents Washington, Texas, and Carolina against Agent Alaska. Three-on-one match commencing in three, two, one..._ " FILSS began in a monotone. Four figures stood in the arena: the two best Freelancers, the senior rookie, and one terrified junior rookie whose gun shook in her hands. " _Begin._ "

"Rookie's gonna die." York muttered quietly, doing the _Sign of the Cross_. North shook his head.

"No... I've got a good feeling about that kid."

Washington and Carolina raised their guns as Tex charged, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Cora.

Tex threw a punch, but Cora quickly dodged and leapt into the air performing an array of spinning kicks that struck Tex in the head and chest, the Freelancer in black hardly affected. Cora fell to the floor on her back, her eyes wide behind her visor as Tex readied a punch, then Cora whipped out her pistol and shot Tex with sting-paint with a shriek of fear.

Several shots hit home, splattering across Tex's chest. It was enough to make Tex falter, at least for a minute or two.

"What?!" York asked, his eyes widening. "No one ever stands against Tex!"

"Apparently, Alaska does." South crossed her arms. "Keep watching."

Washington and Carolina fired, but Cora somersaulted out of the way and grabbed her shotgun, landing down on one knee and taking aim with wide and fearful eyes, striking Carolina in the chest with some sting-paint before she and Washington could move out of the way.

Cora made sure to strike a recovering Tex several times more with the paint, keeping her down for a little longer. The girl looked terrified, but that terror seemed to have heightened her senses and kept her fast.

"She's smart." C.T. commented, still sounding skeptical. "She doesn't want to deal with Tex unless it's on her terms. But she shouldn't underestimate Carolina." York crossed his arms.

"She's not."

Cora finally got up the courage to charge, firing her gun and striking Wash in the head with sting-paint. While he recovered, Cora and Carolina started fighting hand-to-hand.

While Cora was small, she was fast. Very fast, and even though Carolina was fast, she had never dealt with such a small opponent, before. Carolina was strong, but she couldn't land a hit while Cora landed a barrage of strikes, even though they were weak in comparison to the far-more skilled and strengthened leader of the Freelancers.

Cora fell back slightly and grabbed her gun, quickly shooting Carolina on the feet and knees, making her fall. Cora seemed to grow more and more nervous with every little victory, seeming to realize that she was just making her opponents frustrated.

"Smart." South mused in approval. Everyone looked over at her. "What?"

"Carolina's never been hit with the sting-paint." North commented, impressed. "Bet it hurts like a bitch."

While Carolina and Washington were down, Tex got to her feet and turned to Cora, raising her fists.

"Not bad, kid."

"I wasn't top of my class for nothing." Cora raised her fists, trying to hide her fear. "This is going to really, really hurt. Me, that is."

"Not a lot of confidence?"

"Saved you for last for a reason, Texas."

"Hmm... Clever." Tex charged and delivered an uppercut to Cora's chin, sending her flying up and back, her helmet flying off. The girl landed on her side and skidded back, groaning before weakly getting on her hands and knees. "Small and fast, but small all the same... Yield, kid."

"What's..?" Cora looked up, her jaw already starting to bruise. "What's the fun in that?" Cora slowly gritted her teeth and stood, wiping the blood away from a split-lip as she got into a fighting stance.

"Stay down!" Tex charged, but Cora whipped out a pistol and fired it three times, her eyes narrowing. The sting-paint hit Tex in the head, and she went down again.

"You first." Cora sheathed her pistol, then fell to her hands and knees. "Okay... This was a stupid idea... Great job, Coraline. Piss off the two best people in the goddamn squad on the first day. Now, they get to get up in a minute and beat you to-" A gun cocked, and Cora looked up to see...

"Forgot about me?" Washington asked, giving a laugh. The other Freelancers were stunned.

"Wait. Out of Carolina, Texas, and Washington... It's Wash who takes her out?!" Wyoming asked, annoyed. "What the bloody-Hell is that?!"

The buzzer went off, signifying the end of the match.

Washington lowered his gun, putting it away. He looked around, making sure that Carolina and Tex hadn't fully recovered, then held out a hand, helping Cora to her feet.

"I'll admit... Not bad, Alaska."

"Really? Thanks..." Coraline suddenly winced, reaching up and rubbing her jaw. "Ow! Tex really packs a punch!"

"Come on, kid. I'll help you to the infirmary." Washington took Cora's arm and placed it over his shoulders, supporting the small girl. "Just so you know: if Tex and Carolina come after us, I might have to leave you to die."

"... Gee, thanks."

"Eh, I probably won't. Us rookies gotta stick together, right? ... Fuck, Carolina's getting up! OH SHIT, TEX IS COMING! Run!"

 _ **Well... That's the first F-bomb a character in one of my stories has ever dropped. But seeing as how it's** Red vs. Blue **, it had to be done.**_

 _ **Just to be clear, Coraline isn't stronger than Tex or Carolina. She's actually going to be the worst Freelancer, next to the young Wash. She's just quick-witted, using her size and speed to her advantage. And Tex and Carolina were fighting her for the first time, so they had no idea how Coraline fought. Soon, Tex and Carolina will catch on and kick her ass.**_

 _ **They didn't even lose this match, the Director just ended it because Cora was down for the count. They recovered from the sting-paint, completely unaffected. Cora's real lucky that she's a rookie and the Director gave her one freebie so she didn't get bloodied-up too badly. XD**_

 ** _I only own my OC. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**

 _P.S: **To my viewers who play** Roblox **: try and see if you can find me. My screen-name is** IceWarriorWriter **, and I play Obbys.**_


	2. The New Rookie (Washington)

We were at the UNSC Scrap Metal Recycling Station, and it was time for our team's first mission with Cora.

"Use your packs sparingly! Course-correction only!" Carolina ordered as we got our jet-packs on. "You don't want to end up like Georgia!"

"Wait..." I frowned. "What happened to Georgia?!"

"Nobody knows!" South shouted. "They never found him!"

"Ooh, I heard about that." Cora winced from next to me. "Poor guy." Was I the only one out of the loop?!

"Are you sure these things are safe?!" I asked. Too late.

"Now!" Carolina shouted, and we leapt out of the _Pelican_.

We flew toward the main hangar and entered, guns blazing.

Then, I accidentally disabled the artificial gravity.

"Nice going." Cora rolled her eyes as she floated past me, arms crossed. "This is what I get for watching your back. Big mistake..."

"I've got it!" I shouted, turning the gravity back on. Cora fell down next to me as I ducked to avoid a falling car. "Why do cars hate me?!"

"Has something like this happened, before?"

"No... Yes... Maybe?"

"... Wanna talk about it?"

"Later!"

 ** _/\_**

We searched the whole ship, but the leader of the Insurrectionists was long gone: hiding in Bone Valley. So, we had to fly out in space, again. But first...

"Was that York?!" Cora asked as something screamed and crashed in the hangar. I looked over.

"Yep."

"You will not believe the time I had getting back." York announced, sitting up. "It's nuts out there."

"Let's go, people." Carolina, South, and North departed as I helped York up, explaining the situation.

"We're going all the way over there?" York asked, surprised. "After what happened to Georgia?!"

"Would someone please tell me what happened to Georgia?!" I asked, frustrated. Hey, I'm a nice guy, but come on! York chuckled.

"Dude, you don't wanna know." York flew off, leaving Cora and I. I watched after him, then...

"I really do, though!" I shouted. Cora laughed, patting me on the back with some pity.

"Tell you what: beat me in a race to catch up, and I'll tell you what I know about what can best be described as the _Georgia Incident_. Deal?"

"Deal!"

"Let's go!"

 ** _/\_**

We caught up (me winning by a foot or so), but it was a trap. A bunch of nuclear-bombs were left in the scrapyard, and we had to get on the _Pelican_ or die.

"Wash, what are you doing?!" York asked as I was the last one left outside. "Use your jet-pack!"

"I don't want to end up like Georgia!" I shouted. Cora sighed.

"Goddamnit!" The girl ripped a grappler-gun from Carolina's hand and fired it at a beam on the ceiling of the Pelican, leaping out of the ship and grabbing my arm, glaring. "If I die for you, I'll fucking kill you, Wash!"

Cora pulled the trigger on the grappler, and we were pulled into the _Pelican_ just in time to escape.

Cora stood and offered a hand, pulling me to my feet.

"Wow... Thanks."

"No problem."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We returned to the _Mother of Invention_ , and we were introduced to North's AI: Theta.

"Oh my God, he's adorable!" Cora almost-squealed, kneeling down as the tiny AI hid behind North's leg. The girl waved, oblivious of our staring, all of her focus on the AI. "Hi!"

" **H-hello. My name is Theta.** "

"My name is _Agent Alaska_ , but my friends call me _Cora_. You can call me _Cora_ , if you want."

" **O-okay.** "

"How is she so good with..?" I paused for a moment. "Kids?"

"I have a brother." Cora looked over her shoulder at me. "I like to refer to him as the _immortal four year-old_."

"You've got a brother?" North asked. "No kidding?"

"Nope. My older twin brother, Michael. Mind and innocence of a toddler, but he's got this crazy super-strength and this state he goes into where he goes crazy-angry."

"What's that mean?" York asked. Cora paused for a moment.

"Tiny, blue Hulk."

 ** _/\_**

We watched North and Theta practice, and it was incredible! But Cora kept whacking me upside the head whenever I commented on the AI's size and muttering about boys.

"I'm a man!" I argued as the others laughed, and Cora crossed her arms, her face hidden by her helmet. I definitely detected a smirk.

"Just keep telling yourself that."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

A week or so later, we were in class, learning more about the AI fragments and their stages of rampancy. I think Cora was still pissed off by the fact that she had to sit in front of me, so she couldn't see what I looked like without my helmet. I just smirked, really enjoying the frustration that caused.

A short time later, we sat in the mess-hall, and Cora watched as Theta created fireworks with a smile almost as big as North's. What was with her and that innocent little AI?

Then, York sat down and started talking to North about something, and they made Cora cover her ears and go _la-la-la_ after they shut down their AI. I walked down and sat across from Cora and York, and I heard something...

"What's an _Alpha_?" I asked. York pulled Cora's arm down, whatever the secret was being out, and Cora looked at me and raised an eyebrow. York decided to voice everyone's questions.

"Wash... Are you eating inside your helmet?" He asked. I looked down at my drink (complete with a yellow silly-straw) as Cora covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a laugh.

"Maybe." I answered through a mouth full of food. "Delta said that they got the helmet waste-disposal out of beta, and that it would make my eating more efficient." York and Cora immediately started laughing.

"And you believed that?!" York asked, then looked at North. "Maybe he is getting more personable."

"It's not an Alpha, Wash." North turned to look at me, frowning. "It's the Alpha. Theta thinks about him a lot. More than thinks, really. It's like he's obsessed." York nodded in agreement.

"Delta, too. You know how all the AIs call each other _Brother_? They call this one _Father_." York had a second thought. "No, that's not right..."

" _Creator_." North corrected. Cora nodded, seeming to catch on.

"Well, they call them AI fragments." She stated. "It makes you wonder..." I raised an eyebrow as she frowned.

"Wonder about what?"

"Well..." Cora sighed. "If these are the fragments, what exactly got broken?" All of us tensed up.

"Okay, I think Theta just freaked." North raised a hand to the side of his head. York seemed to shake out of a daze.

"Yeah... Delta, too."

"What?" I asked. "I thought that you guys shut them down." York looked over at me, frowning.

"Me, too... Cora, I think you're on to something."

"Haven't you noticed something about the AI?" Cora asked. "Delta is all logic. Theta needs to completely trust someone in order to function. Sigma always seems to be planning something... Full AI are copies of real minds, right?" North raised an eyebrow, frowning.

"Right..."

"What happens when you break a mind?"

No one could answer her.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Soon, there was a plan to raid the Longshore Shipyards and face the Insurrectionalist forces, and C.T. We had to retrieve C.T.'s armor, which most of us weren't really looking forward to. But, it's not like we had a choice.

After a terrifying flight (Cora and the others laughing at me as I panicked), we arrived at the shipyards and charged out of the _Pelican_. We started firing at the enemy, I used my EMP to short-out the enemy's _Warthog_ s, and North used his shield to take out the snipers.

Our luck seemed to run out. York and I ended up getting blindsided by a huge Insurrectionist, and I ran as a Warthog started chasing me.

 _ **:** Alaska! **:**_ I heard Carolina shout over the comm-link. _**:** Activate your armor-enhancement! **:**_

"Are you sure?!" Cora asked, watching York and I from the sidelines, her shotgun aimed. "I'm not-"

 _ **:** DO IT! **:**_

"Aw, fuck..." Cora dropped her shotgun and ran between me and the _Warthog_ , standing her ground and letting out a cry of effort as a sonic-blast erupted from her armor and sent the car and everyone within thirty-feet flying back. I recovered and looked up as Cora fell onto her hands and knees, raising a hand to the side of her head as Carolina and York started taking the recovering Insurrectionists out. I stood and ran over, helping my fellow rookie up.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." Cora nodded. "I guess that'll take some getting used to." Cora grabbed her shotgun, and we resumed firing at the enemy.

Then, I decided to call Maine in. I threw the homing-box out, the pod landed, and Maine stepped out, Sigma appearing by his side as the Freelancer growled.

"Wait..." I noticed a man in the group of enemies. "Oh, they are so dead." Cora looked at me, confused.

"What?"

"That's the guy who shot Maine in the throat and took his voice." I pointed. Cora winced, doing a quick _Sign of the Cross_. I raised an eyebrow. "Um, what was that all about?"

"I always do it in the presence of dead people." Cora replied, laughing. I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"Haha, very funny."

"Someone obviously has never watched _Murdoch Mysteries_."

 ** _/\_**

Maine started tearing the Insurrectionists apart, York ran over, we had a quick chat with the creepy little asshole we called _Sigma_ , and we finally stormed the enemy's command-complex.

We ended up pinned down by enemy fire, and we were outs of ideas. That's when Tex showed up, using some kind of cloaking/invisibility-device to get past the enemy. Carolina went after her, and York looked at Cora.

"Can you do the sonic-thing, again?!" He asked. Before Cora could answer, I shook my head.

"She nearly passed out the last time she tried it! Trying again could be dangerous, maybe suicidal!"

"Uh, guys?" Cora pointed as Florida slowly got up and ripped the battle-axe out of his shoulder, throwing the weapon at the enemy before sabotaging a crane and taking both of them out. "I think we might be good."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Me, too."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We didn't get the armor back. C.T. got away, but Carolina told us that Tex had shot her. Fatal wounds.

A few weeks passed, and the day South and I were supposed to get AI, Carolina took them both. South went ballistic, and well...

"This is bullshit!"

"South!" North tried. "Calm down!"

"Calm down?! That's easy for you to say! You have an AI! Who the fuck is she to take away ours?!"

"Our turn will come." I attempted to calm my teammate down. "They've already put me back on the list, and Cora-"

"WHAT?!" South kicked a bench over in her rage. Okay, I probably shouldn't have said that.

"You ever notice that every time you open your mouth, you make things worse?" York asked. I looked down.

"Sorry."

"HEY!" Cora finally shouted, all of us turning to her. "Let's all just calm down, okay?! We're supposed to be a team, and Carolina is our leader! We trust her judgement on the battlefield, so why can't we trust her here?! Maybe she's doing this because she thinks we deserve the best in a leader." Cora paced a few feet away. "I think she's scared, and yes: I mean that. I think she's worried that if she's not the best, there will be a day when it all goes to Hell and she won't be strong enough to pull us through it." Cora turned back to us, glaring. "So, let's all calm down before we do something we'll regret, okay? We can't fight our enemies if we're too busy killing each other."

South stormed out, past Texas (wait, what?), and North sighed, shaking his head.

"I better go after her." After he left, Tex turned to us.

"I've come for Carolina."

 ** _Well... That was a thing. To be clear: Cora's affection for Theta comes from the little similarities she sees between the AI and her brother. I only own my OC. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	3. Rookie Mistakes (Cora)

We went to visit Carolina in the med-bay, and when she woke up, she demanded a match. To say the least: it didn't go well. I mean, at all. What-so-ever.

Everyone with an AI collapsed, gripping the sides of their head and screaming. We watched helplessly as Carolina suffered, then Tex knocked her out to help end her pain.

After the match, I stood in the locker-room as Tex walked in. Nodding to myself and taking a deep breath, I exited hiding and walked over to her.

"I guess someone should apologize, on Carolina's behalf." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "I mean... I think she feels a little threatened. I'm sure it's nothing personal, she just-"

"Hey." Tex raised a hand. "Don't worry about it, kid. Carolina and I go way back, we've been at each other's throats for a while. I guess this was bound to happen, eventually... You sure are a nervous one, aren't you?"

"Sorry, I guess I'm just... I'm just worried for Carolina, and everyone else. I worry a lot."

"Is there a particular reason behind that, Alaska?"

"It's _Cora_. And... Someone I love got hurt, once." I admitted, unable to stop myself. "And, he was never the same again. It was because I couldn't protect him... I guess you never fully let your guard down again, after something that."

"Hey." Tex put a hand on my shoulder. "I get it... I don't remember how, but believe me: I get it."

"Hey." York suddenly walked in. "They think they've found some Insurrectionist hide-out. We've got a mission."

"What?" I asked, surprised. "Without Carolina? Are they crazy?!"

"North's leading." York admitted. "We leave immediately." Tex crossed her arms, annoyed.

"Where for?"

"Sidewinder."

 ** _/\_**

We rode in the _Pelican_ over Sidewinder's surface, and I could already feel the cold creeping through my armor and into my bones. I rubbed my gloved hands together, breathing into them to try and keep my fingers warm.

"Hey, guys, it looks like Alaska's getting cold!" South laughed, and I deadpanned. Really?

"You okay?" North asked, sounding concerned as always. I looked up, sighing and nodding.

"Yeah. Sorry, my home-planet doesn't really get cold."

"Home-planet?" Tex asked, surprised. "You're a colonial?" I nodded, shivering both from the cold and the memories. "What planet?"

"Hey, team!" 47-9er shouted over her shoulder. "We're over the base! Time to start the party!"

"Well..." I stood and readied my gun as the ramp opened. "It feels like a good day to fuck shit up!" We jumped out and landed in thigh-high snow. "Never mind. It is not a good day to be me..."

"Aw, chill out, _Snow Queen_!" Wash teased, and I glared at him. "Tell you what: when this is over, I'll teach you how to build a snowman... Cora?"

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Wash reached over and knocked on my helmet five times in a disgustingly familiar beat.

"... **_Do you wanna build a snowman~?_** "

"Fuck off." I scoffed, turning to follow North. I didn't see Wyoming and York patting him in the back, Maine shaking his head and face-palming as South laughed at Wash.

 ** _/\_**

When we entered the compound, all Hell broke loose. There were at least thirty of them, all highly-trained. And somehow, I found myself fighting the biggest one all by myself as the others handled the rest of them.

"Okay..." I looked up at the muscled man who was at least three feet taller than me, taking a deep breath as he raised a bazooka, and I raised my shotgun. "I'm so dead."

Suddenly, the man dropped the bazooka and punched the floor, sending me flying back as a shockwave went out. Armor enhancements, either a sonic-pulse like mine or a VERY overpowered strength-boost.

I looked up and rolled out of the way as he leapt up and his feet crashed into where I had just been lying, getting to my feet and firing my shotgun. I struck the man's right shoulder, but he kept coming.

I gasped and let out a shout of surprise as I was thrown through one of the facility's windows, and I landed in the snow. There was a blizzard raging, and I got up as the man leapt out after me.

"So, I'm guessing you're the rookie." The man chuckled, cracking his knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy this, little girl."

"Okay..." I got up, glaring as I raised my shotgun. "You seem to have missed the fact that I'm a Freelancer!" I leapt up and performed a spinning-kick, only for the man to grab my leg and throw me into a cliff-face, and I landed in the snow in a heap. God, that was embarrassing... I looked up as he approached.

"And you seem to have missed the fact that-" Suddenly, someone shot the man in the left shoulder and sent him falling back, a figure in grey standing between me and him. My eyes widened.

"Wash?"

"Get up, Alaska." Wash ordered, and I obeyed, both of us aiming our weapons at the man. "What made you think that you could take this guy?!"

"You act like I had a choice!"

"You should have yelled for me!"

"You were busy!"

"Are you kids done, yet?" The man stood and cracked his knuckles. We looked over at him, annoyed.

"Nope!"

The man charged, Wash and I dodging as he slammed his fist into the cliff, cracks rising up from where the punch made contact. The ice began to fall, and when we looked to try and figure out where to run, we realized that the base we were in had a wall in a short, narrow ravine. We were trapped, only ten feet of space short-wise and forty long-wise to try and escape the falling ice.

"There!" Wash grabbed my hand and pulled me into a cave. My attacker roared in rage and charged at us, only to get crushed just before reaching the cave-entrance. "Yeah!"

"No." I stared as ice blocked the entrance to the cave. Wash and I exchanged glances, our eyes wide behind our helmets as we realized what we'd done. "C-Call Maine! He can blast us out!"

"Right!" Wash nodded, and I heard him activate his radio. "Maine, come in! Alaska and I are trapped in an ice-cave! We need you to... Maine?!" Wash cursed under his breath. "He's not answering..." Wash began trying the others. "North?! South?! Florida?! Wyoming?! Tex?! Anybody?!"

"Wash, stop." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "There may be no radio-signal, but if we activate our suits' emergency-beacons, they can be detected by the _Mother of Invention_ and relayed to the others: no matter what."

"R-right..." Wash nodded, and we activated our beacons. "It looks like we're going to have to try and hole-up here, for a while. It'll take time for the others to finish the fight, stop looking for us, get to the _Pelican_ , find our location, come back, and dig us out."

"Agreed." I nodded. "We should try to conserve our energy. If we get tired and fall asleep..." Wash drew a line across his neck with his finger. "Exactly."

"Alright." Wash leaned against a wall of ice and slid down into a sitting position. "We might as well hang back and relax for a while." I nodded, sitting down next to him and pulling my knees to my chest. "So... You still wanna build that snowman when the mission's over?"

"... Fuck you, Wash."

 ** _/\_**

It may have been an hour or two later when the cold really began to affect Wash and I.

"I-It's freezing." I hugged myself, trying to conserve heat. "W-when are the others getting here?"

"D-don't know." Wash admitted, rubbing his hands together. "B-but no matter what, we stay awake. Got it? If we sleep, we'll die... Guess we should talk about some stuff, keep each other alert."

"R-right." I nodded, shivering. "T-they really need to build better heaters into this armor, huh?"

"Y-yeah. That m-might help... So, you've g-got a brother?"

"Y-yeah."

"M-Michael, wasn't it? T-think he's doing alright?"

"Yeah... H-he's been assigned to fight in those _Red vs. Blue_ battles, so he should be p-pretty safe."

"W-worried?"

"Yeah. M-Michael's kinda _special_. H-he was never quite right in the h-head... I hope he's o-okay without me."

"I'm sure h-he's fine. If he's anywhere near a-as strong as you are, h-he's probably kicking ass." Thank God for my helmet. I felt my face warm up.

"W-when we played war-games as kids, he'd a-always 'kill' the people on his own team. Besides me. He a-always thought I needed p-protected."

"... He's s-screwed."

"Yeah..." Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind, and I was pulled into a embrace. Yep, I was definitely blushing by then. "W-Wash, w-what are you-?!"

"You're a l-lot smaller than I am. You m-may be strong, but you'll die of we don't get help soon... Basic survival training. I'm using my own body h-heat to help you keep warm."

"W-worry about yourself, Wash. I'm f-fine, really."

"No, you're n-not... So, w-what else would you have been if y-you weren't a soldier? I can't see m-myself anywhere else, b-but what about you?"

"... I wanted to be a d-doctor. B-but when my brother decided to be a soldier, I f-followed him."

"Y-you're really protective, huh?"

"I-I guess so." I was getting tired. No, no! I had to stay awake. "Wash... I don't want to d-die."

"I-I know, I know... And you won't, I p-promise."

"W-we just gotta stay awake, right?"

"R-right."

"... Wash?"

"Y-yeah?"

"D-don't fall asleep. I-I don't want to b-be alone."

"I-I won't... You know, t-this is the worst situation ever. Of all t-time."

"Yeah... We're freezing and slowly d-dying, unable to contact anyone, and what's worse: if anyone finds us l-like this, they will never let us live it down."

We both managed small laughs at that, then stopped to conserve energy. My eyes were struggling to remain open..

 _Stay awake._

 _Stay awake._

 _Stay awake._

 ** _/\_**

 _"Okay, okay..." 47-9er's narrowed eyes scanned a screen on the **Pelican**. "Where are their beacons?"_

 _"It might be too late." York sighed, shaking his head. "Those kids are good, strong, but they're the smallest on this team. The storm-"_

 _"They'll make it." North scolded, then looked down. "They have to. We've lost C.T. We can't lose them."_

 _"There!" 47-er shouted. "It looks like they're in a cave a mile from here. They must have taken shelter, or maybe they were trapped."_

 _"Well..." Tex stood, gesturing to the exit ramp. "Let's go get them." The Freelancer in black was the first down the ramp, leading the rest into the snow._

 ** _/\_**

"Okay... Why is a r-raven like a writing desk?" I asked. Wash paused for a minute, thinking.

"No i-idea."

"Because P-Poe wrote on both."

"Oh! I g-get it!"

"Do you?"

"... No."

"Edgar A-Allen Poe, a famous author from hundreds of years ago, had to use a w-writing desk instead of c-computers and stuff like that." I began to explain the meaning. "H-his most famous work was the R- _Raven_."

"No kidding? Neat... Where is that d-damn rescue team?"

"No i-idea." Black spots danced before my eyes. "Wash, are you-?"

"Yeah..." Wash sighed. "It's getting harder to stay a-awake."

"A-any regrets, besides d-dying?"

"D-does _going on_ _this mission_ go under d- dying?" Wash joked. "Worst m-mission ever, of all time... You?"

"I-I try not to dwell on the p-past, on things I can't c-change... But, I-I never expected to go out like t-this. Shot, b-blown up: but _frozen_? C-come on! W-worse mission ever."

"Of all t-time?"

"Of all time."

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down. My eyes closed, everything in my brain going fuzzy.

"C-Cora? Cora?!"

 ** _/\_**

 _"There's the cave!" Wyoming pointed, having been looking at a scanner and realized that they had been buried. "We made it!"_

 _"Let's just get the kids and get the Hell out of here." Tex gestured, actually seeming anxious. "We need to hurry. Maine, blast them out."_

 _Maine nodded and drew the **BruteShot** , beginning to fire at the ice and blast it away as the other Freelancers watched him anxiously._

 _"They'll be alright." North kept muttering, his sister placing a hand on his shoulder. Delta appeared in the air next to York._

 _" **Likelihood of survival for Agent Washington: forty-five percent.** " He announced, sounding a bit sad. " **Likelihood of survival for Agent Alaska: twenty-five percent.** "_

 _"They'll both be fine!" York snapped. "Did that little calculation of yours factor in their goddamn stubbornness?!"_

 _" **... Indeed.** "_

 ** _/\_**

Everything was dark, and cold. I couldn't open my eyes...

"She's cold as ice." I heard someone say through the mist. "We need to get her back to the _Mother of Invention_ , now!

"On it! Fasten your seatbelts!"

Why did it feel like I was on a ship? And by the jolts, a _Pelican_?

"That was smart thinking, Wash. She would have died if you hadn't done what you did... How is he holding up?"

"I'll be fine. Just worry about Cora."

That's when I slipped back into an oblivion.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I woke up lying on something stiff, and I groaned and sat up, raising a hand to the side of my head in response to a headache.

I opened my eyes and looked down at myself to see that I was still in my armor (save my helmet), with heating devices hooked up to the plating. I was on a cot in some sort of hospital. Shaking my head, I turned my head to see Wash sleeping in a chair, his arms on the cot with his head resting on them.

For the first time ever, he wasn't wearing his helmet.

Wash had messy blonde hair and a face that most girls/women back home would swoon over. He must have sensed something off as I stared at him, because he stirred and woke up, opening blue/green eyes.

"Cora?" He asked. "Cora!" I was surprised as Wash hugged me.

"What happened?" I asked as he pulled away. "Where-?"

"We're safe. We're on the _Mother of Invention,_ in the infirmary."

"Thank God... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You were the one who almost died, Cora... How do you feel?"

"Cold, and I hurt all over. How long was I out?"

"Three days."

"Yikes."

"... Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Wash, I-"

"Don't you ever scare me like that ever again!"

"I'm sorry, okay?!" I demanded, annoyed. Then, I smirked. I had to say it. "... _Blondie_."

"Wait, what?" Wash slowly paled. "Shit!" I laughed as he took his helmet and slammed it back onto his head. "You never saw that!"

"Nope!" I reached up and stole his helmet, laughing as he tried to get it back. "So, this explains all the stupid stuff you do! I thought the _dumb-blonde_ thing was specifically restricted to women, but nope!"

"Give it back!"

"Nope!"

"Please!"

"Not happening!"

 ** _I own nothing besides my OC! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


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